Additive manufacturing technologies, such as powder bed fusion, powder and wire deposition processes, laminated object manufacturing (LOM), and ultrasonic consolidation process are well-known processes for generating components in a layer-by-layer process. In LOM processes, thin sheets of material are separately cut and assembled to match the dimensions of a desired finished component. The finished component dimensions are ‘sliced’ from a CAD model, and the individual layers are cut using a laser cutting operation or water jet cutting process to produce the individual cross sections of the 3D part. The slices are stacked on top of one another, and each slice is attached to the adjacent slice using heat, laser, or electron beam. In some LOM applications, a process known as “tack welding” is used, in which anchor points are welded together prior to connecting the rest of the sheets.
LOM processes can cause internal vacancies and dislocations to be present in the structure that is manufactured, which can result in reduced structural integrity and/or increased surface roughness.